K9 Companion
by KenwaysFrye
Summary: While searching for supplies, Rick and Carl run into a young woman and her dog.
1. There Were Four

_I got an idea to write a short story about Rick and his son finding a German Shepherd (or just a dog in general), and this came from it. There might be a few more chapters if I feel like continuing it, but I think I like it the way it is._

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"I think we should check this house," Carl suggested, looking towards a brick house that appeared mostly untouched from the bloodshed happening around it. The windows were barred and the front had both a screen door and wooden door with a deadbolt lock - but there was no telling what the inside would be like. Rick thought of avoiding it for the moment to go back to Alexandria with the supplies they already had, but he also realized that there might actually be food inside, if someone had taken the time to barricade it after the attack.

They both searched for multiple entrances and exits for the safest experience possible, deciding that the sliding back door would probably be the easiest to get through and big enough for both of them to make an escape if need be. The inside of the seemingly abandoned house proved to be as promising as he thought - he could already see plenty of instant mashed potatoes on the counter and a couple of cans of soup on the dining table, and he was sure that the package beside the door was water bottles when closely inspected. While it wasn't a very big loot of provisions, it was needed just as badly as everything else they had, and Rick wasn't about to let anyone in Alexandria go starving in the first place. It was hope in the presence of a house.

"We need a way in," He muttered, eyes scanning the premises. Carl huffed and pointed towards a brick that had conveniently been sitting there. "Smash it in with the brick."

Rick had to question his son's methods. "The noise will attract walkers, Carl."

"Well we need the food and we're pretty damn good at killing those things..."

"Is that really something to be proud of?" Rick said as he picked up the brick, weighing it in his hands. It didn't feel heavy enough to do the job, but maybe that cinder block they'd found a few houses down would do. They didn't have time to retrace their steps and go searching for it again though, so he would just have to settle for hoping that the brick would suffice. He walked backwards, aimed his shot, and let it fly with a mighty throw. It collided with the window and shattered it in the middle, leaving a gap just big enough for Rick to shove his arm through and unlock the door.

A sudden growl, low but warning, made him rethink his choice of sticking his arm through the door. A low hushing sound followed it, but the growling only seemed to be getting closer and louder, until a vicious looking white German Shepherd entered both Grimes' field of view. It bared its blood-stained teeth menacingly, stance in that of a protective one as it stared them both down. Its ears flattened against its head in an aggressive manner, Rick noticed, as if the thing were ready to rip their throat out on the spot.. only they were proved wrong as a young female (probably no older than twenty) finally revealed herself to them, looking oddly frightened as her ginger hair framed her face, obscuring any further observation.

"What are you doing here? What do you want?"

"We thought this place was abandoned," Rick finally responded, answering one question.

Carl was the first to approach, not at all careful or mindful of the way the white furball stared him down. "How long have you been here?"

"Since the reports," She told them, blatantly, not quite trusting of their motives. "What do you want?"

"We saw the food," Rick responded in spot of his son. "Our people need it..."

She looked hesitant at this. "So you're going to kill me if I don't hand it over?"

"Well, either that or you could come with us," Carl quipped, noting the reprimanding look on his father's face. It was true though.

She bit her lip. "... I can't. You can have some of my food, but please stop trying to break in. We've already had it happen once," She whispered. Her dog whined in response.

Now that Rick could get a better look at her as she unlocked the door, he noticed that she had some blood spots on her shirt and her dog's fur was randomly matted in small spots as well. Maybe they were con-artists, but with the way she was skeptically eyeing them as if they'd hurt her, he suddenly felt a tinge of guilt for having such suspicions in the first place. She opened the door for them and allowed them passage, still watching their movements with the smallest hint of wary.

"I have more food in the pantry and there's more water bottles in the basement, but I suppose I could go get those for you - I bet you'd think I'd lock you down there if you went." There was a little wry humor in her statement. "Oh, and I'm Paige, by the way. This is Hitch, my dog. He's been helping me since the whole thing started."

"I'm Rick, and this is my son Carl."

"Oh? I rarely ever see a family these days, but I don't go outside much anyway..." She trailed off.

Hitch suddenly barked, interrupting the awkward silence. His nose was pointing towards the open door - and incoming walkers - stance intimating once more. There were four or five of them, groaning and moaning and ready to eat flesh. As Paige froze, Rick and Carl acted immediately, both grabbing their machetes to fend off the menace until she finally gained enough courage to shuffle to the kitchen and grab a fair-sized knife for defense. It was a bit dull but she figured it would have to do in her haste, and took to the front-lines with her canine companion. She attacked the knee just as her dog launched himself at another's ankle, watching as they both fell simultaneously and desperately turned to attack their targets. Paige gave it little time, shoving her blade as far as it could go inside the former persons' head, then grunted as she pulled it out with exertion. Rick and Carl passed them to kill the other two coming at a much faster pace, and Paige quickly moved to Hitch's side to finish his zombie off. The knife got stuck in his head like she had known it would, and turned to watch as her invaders finished off the last one together.

Adrenaline still coursing through her veins and still on high alert, Paige observed her surroundings in haste for more walkers. Hitch had already calmed down, strutting like he owned the place because of his victory against the man-eaters. She would have laughed at his confidence if she hadn't remembered that Rick and Carl were only there for her provisions, which she had still yet to give them water or food. She contemplated Carl's words earlier, and her clever play on words that had avoided the subject of killing all-together and shook her head. She'd been on her own for too long, perhaps.

"I'll give you all of my supplies on one condition," She intoned. "You have to take me and Hitch."

Rick narrowed his eyes. "You have to answer three questions first. Truthfully."

"I'm all ears," Paige confirmed.

"How many walkers have you killed?"

"A lot more than I'm comfortable with."

"How many people have you killed?" Did Rick have a point to this? Paige bit her lip.

"Three."

Rick opened his mouth to speak again. "Why?"

"My mother didn't want to turn... she made me promise her that she wouldn't... But I left the front door unlocked one day, and two men broke in and tried to steal everything and kill me. I didn't want to, but the left me no choice. They weren't being reasonable," She muttered, eyes downcast.

There was more silence, not awkward and then it was disrupted by Rick. "Help us load all of it up, and bring your dog."

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 _Hitch will be seen in the future, whether it be a small comedy story that I might write or a small addition to whatever this thing might be~!_


	2. Problem

"ARF!"

Carl couldn't believe his luck as a white German Shepherd darted into his field of view, coming towards him so fast that the boy was caught off-guard with slobbery kisses and long licks. He wondered if his father and Paige had made any sort of progress into finding them when he ushered the excited canine down onto his paws, listening for any sign of walkers. No footsteps to be heard or groaning to be deciphered, Carl walked back out of the store with a few more items in his shoulder bag and looked for any sort of sign that would tell them where they were and where to go to retrace their steps. He'd been on a road to the north with everyone when it happened - and now he was east - so he would just have to turn right to go back where the ambush had happened.

"Come on, boy," He muttered, only slightly proud to see that the dog was finally taking orders from him without difficulty. Paige had warned him earlier as they were making their way to Alexandria that he was stubborn and prideful - perhaps a bit aggressive as well - which would end up a problem if someone else were to give him a command. Maybe the only reason Hitch was even collaborating with him at the moment was because he knew that the boy would keep him alive. Carl didn't bother to ponder it, much more focused on getting back to the point where they'd been swarmed by a horde of walkers big enough to cause trouble.

While Carl made point to take lead for the first part of their adventure, Hitch strolled with him casually and occasionally stopped to mark a tree when he felt his bladder was getting too full or the scent smelled like another dog. Carl had to quickly finish a few walkers when they came too close, Hitch staying silent and not aggressive as if he were smart enough to know that they reacted to sound. In all honesty, Carl wouldn't be surprised if the animal was getting clever with the way the world was. He finally came across another street he vaguely remembered the last time he was there looting with his father. He had to go straight and follow the road just a little longer, but Hitch wasn't so willing to follow.

He took lead and sniffed the air, but the stench of rotting flesh covered any smell his human could have hoped to leave behind for him. Even the signs she had made for them as Carl had seen (bloody hand prints or stickers she had with her) were hard for the animal to unravel. He would sneeze when he inhaled it for too long and if he didn't breathe it in long enough he couldn't know if someone else had made them - which had made it a challenge for both of them to survive without running into trouble. After all, the threat of Saviors still loomed heavily over their head because of their recent attack on their base. Carl was about to dismiss the search to take a break and regain some stamina when Hitch suddenly took off down an alleyway, and he realized he had to follow or else the dog would leave him behind.

"Wait!" He called pathetically.

When he was close enough, snarls echoed throughout the abandoned passage. He gained on the noise and rounded a corner, mostly alert and worried for the dog when he spotted another that bared teeth yellowed with brushing neglect. An injured, yet fairly muscled Rottweiler with larger jaws squared his shoulders in an attempt to ward off the dog in front of him. When Hitch did not back down, the beast let out a growl of warning and walked forward two paces, daring the German Shepherd to get closer. As he responded in kind, Carl spotted a red-haired woman shifting on a fire escape ladder in fright blabbering about how Hitch should run and let her deal with the ferocious animal. Carl realized that this was why Hitch had disappeared from his sight so easily. That dog was truly loyal... ready to defend his human and take whatever the enemy was willing to give to make sure that she was safe in the end.

Hitch launched himself just as the Rottweiler snapped in his direction again and they both went tumbling, a mess of dog limbs and clashing teeth. Carl removed his father's memory from the forefront of his mind in favor of drawing out his gun to help in some damn way because Hitch was snapping and snarling but the Rottweiler was fairly strong and swift for its size, snapping at Hitch's shoulder and forelegs as its own went to work at clawing the German Shepherd's stomach and chest. He pulled himself away to keep from getting any more injuries and watched his opponent struggle to stand. The Rottweiler charged just as a gunshot rang through the air, sending both Hitch and the unknown animal into another episode of tossing. Hitch made his move from below as the beast shakily stood above him with a dazed air, sinking his sharp teeth into its neck. the dog yelped and moved back, but Hitch would not let go. The dog yelped and cried in desperate attempts to remove the snarling Shepherd from his throat.

Hitch pulled, and blood spilled everywhere as part of the Rottweiler's neck ripped away brutally with his mouth.

Carl looked to Paige, who seemed to be in some form of shock as bits of flesh from the dead dog fell out of Hitch's mouth, and then at the dog himself who had suffered wounds that would probably take a while to heal without proper care. He was no veterinarian, hell, probably the worst in the world at that subject but he knew it wasn't normal for a dog to look so frail after that. Apparently Paige knew this, because she quickly released herself from her daze and rushed to her companion's side without a second thought of her safety. Hitch collapsed into his human's arms, tired and hurting.

Paige picked him up with a surprising strength and motioned Carl forward. "We need to find your father."

And that was how they spent another hour roaming about until they came to a crossroads. While Paige suggested taking off the way Rick had went earlier when they all split, Carl pointed out that he was more than likely back at the RV and they just needed to go in that direction. This caused them to get into a small argument that only halted when Hitch's whimper brought them both back to reality.

"Fine, we'll go to the RV," Paige relented. "But you have to lead."

Carl ensured that they safely got to their destination and killed a couple of walkers lurking in front of it, opening the door to push her inside as he followed. Silence met his ears, which meant Rick had not yet found the RV. Paige didn't smirk or soak in her victory like Carl thought, only entering the cabin so she could place Hitch in the bedroom at the back. While she stayed close to the dog to make sure he was comfortable and silent, Carl kept an eye open for his father outside and killed walkers that came too close to the RV for comfort. It remained this way for another hour - and Carl noticed it was almost evening time - until he finally saw the silhouette of a figure in the distance. Carl clambered back inside and caught Paige's attention, holding a finger to his lips to tell her to remain quiet. She nodded and left it at that.

As the figure approached, Carl readied his weapon for attack and waited until the door slung open - and then a gun was in his field of view too. As soon as Carl recognized his father he lowered his weapons and attacked his father with a hug. It was unexpected of him, but Rick found himself smiling all the same and hugged his son back as he closed the door behind them. Paige turned away from the intimate act and instead rubbed in between her dog's ears.

"It's okay, bud. I've got a feeling Alexandria will be a lot safer."


	3. Dig

**montainer** : I also like Rick and Carl, which is why I decided to originally write this short story in the first place. I think it's adorable when they get along so well together, like a father and son should. Thank you for the kind words about my OC as well!

 **Author's Note: I decided to give you guys something short and sweet while I continue to work on the next chapter.  
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Hitch hadn't been out digging in a very long time, so it was a surprise to Paige when she went out onto her back porch and found him digging deeper and deeper into her backyard as if in search of something. Her first thought about it had been to scold him for such a thing until she'd realized that it really didn't matter what her backyard looked like, because the world was already dead and survivors only thought about themselves, not the state their residence happened to be in at the time. Sighing, Paige moved to sit next to him with a melancholic smile. Her lithe, calloused fingers soon joined his paws and then they were both shoveling out dirt together like they'd done when she was younger and hadn't need to worry about dead ones roaming about - simply taking time to enjoy some semblance of normalcy that had been eradicated with the looming threat just outside of her fenced-in yard.

Hitch's nailed scratched across some sort of metal, creating an eerie screech that sent unbidden shivers down Paige's spine. She looked at the spot where his nails had left a mark through the dirt and dusted away the rest of it with her hand, gasping when she realized that he'd been digging for the time capsule they'd buried together before the whole world had changed.[1]

Paige felt tears attack her eyes from the barrage of emotions she was feeling, from anger to pain to happiness and sorrow. She would never be able to see her family again because of this horrible life she lived in now. Hitch continued to dig at the sides until it was revealed enough to be surfaced, and quickly grabbed the handle within his mouth to put it in his human's lap. They walked in and she shut the sliding glass door behind her, both sides content to sit on the couch as she reminisced about how she'd gotten the item in her hand. Underneath it all laid a picture of her family including her mother, sister, and father.

Hitch was just happy because his human didn't smell like fear anymore.

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 **[1] - I realize I only gave a vague description of how old she was, which stated "she was probably no older than twenty" in the first chapter. She's nineteen and about to become twenty, which gives me room to explain why she was able to share this moment with Hitch. German Shepherds have a generalized lifespan of 9-13 years, and since she is nineteen right now and he's ten (in human years), he would have been given to her when she was nine.**


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